Seven hour stand-off leads to arrest

September 16, 2012

A 47-year-old Elmore man faces felony charges as a result of an early morning stand-off with law officers on Sept. 8 that lasted more than seven hours.

Michael Walton Hinton made his first court appearance on Tuesday in Faribault County District Court.

He has been charged with felonies of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and three counts of making terroristic threats to law officers.

Hinton also faces a gross misdemeanor charge of obstructing legal process and a fifth-degree assault, which is a misdemeanor.

According to a press release, the Faribault County Sheriff's Office received a 911 call around 12:17 a.m. of someone being stabbed at 204 E. Mondale St. in Elmore.

Responding to the scene were Elmore and Blue Earth police, sheriff's department and Minnesota State Patrol.

Sheriff Mike Gormley says he tried several times to get Hinton to surrender.

"I was trying to reason with him, but he wouldn't respond to our demands," he says. "He told me he wasn't going to give up or come out without a fight."

At one point, Gormley talked with Hinton through a window and was told officers would be shot if they tried to come in and blown up.

The sheriff says Hinton also called a county dispatcher and told her the front and back doors of the house were wired with explosives and set to go off if authorities tried to enter by force. After numerous unsuccessful attempts, county authorities decided to call a SWAT?Team from the South Central Drug Investigation Unit.

Gormley says SWAT Team negotiators attempted to get Hinton to surrender before entering the house by ramming the front door open.

Once inside, the nine-member team deployed a flash bang diversion device.

"There was a loud explosion I felt outside and a real bright light," says Gormley. "I was just hoping the situation did not escalate into something it shouldn't."

Authorities found Hinton in his bedroom. He was arrested and transported to the county jail.

When authorities arrived on the scene, says a court complaint, they found 23-year-old Jose Briseno at Hinton's house.

The two reportedly had a disagreement, says the court complaint, and Briseno offended Hinton by saying he wouldn't be scared of going to prison and the inmates there.

Briseno told authorities Hinton grabbed him from behind and started to choke him.

The complaint says Hinton got a kitchen knife and stabbed Briseno on his hands and arms when he tried to escape.

Also assisting at the scene was the Blue Earth Ambulance and Winnebago police.

At the request of County Attorney Troy Timmerman, Judge Douglas Richards set Hinton's bail at the maximum amounts allowed under state law.

For the second-degree assault charge it is a $42,000 surety bond or $10,000 cash. Bail for the terroristic threats charges is a $20,000 surety bond or $10,000 cash.

If Hinton is released, he must abstain from use of alcohol or mood-altering drugs; submit to random drug testing; may not enter an establishment that serves alcohol; report any change in address to the court administrator's office; and remain in contact with his attorney Bill Grogin.